A British-Jewish man has told the JC that he was subjected to rape threats and physical assault after mentioning a trip to Tel Aviv while on the phone to a friend in a European airport.
Jacob, who asked to be identified by his first name only, claimed he had food thrown over him by a bystander after discussing his recent holiday to Israel aloud while waiting for a flight in Copenhagen.
"I was sitting at a coffee stand having a drink while waiting for my flight. During that time, I was speaking to someone on FaceTime about a recent trip that I had taken to Tel Aviv,” he told the JC.
"An Arab couple who were sitting opposite me overheard my conversation and began verbally abusing me.”
Jacob insisted that he had not said a word to the couple prior to the incident and claims it was simply his mention of having been in Israel that prompted the assault.
“The young man, who I have since been informed is 25 years old, became increasingly aggressive and directed a series of threats towards me.
"He repeatedly threatened to “f*** me up”, threatened sexual violence against me by stating that he would rape me, and also said that he would rape Jewish people. He further stated that he would kill Jews and destroy Israel. Throughout the incident, he made repeated obscene and threatening gestures by grabbing his groin.
Jacob's alleged attacker (Courtesy)[Missing Credit]
“The abuse then escalated when he deliberately threw pizza directly into my face, covering my clothing with food. I was left shocked and extremely distressed by the assault.
“I immediately contacted the police. As soon as the man and woman realised that I was on the phone to the police, they ran away from the area.”
Danish police soon arrived on the scene to take a statement from Jacob. However, according to a video shot by Jacob and seen by the JC, the alleged assailant returned during his conversation with an officer, at which point the man was stopped for questioning.
According to Jacob, police subsequently informed him that the alleged attacker was a 25-year-old Swedish citizen and that he had been arrested at the airport.
Nonetheless, Jacob was left “extremely shaken” after the incident and had to be escorted through security and to his gate by airport staff.
Jacob's shirt covered in pizza after the alleged assault (Courtesy)[Missing Credit]
"I was left covered in food and felt humiliated going through the airport until I could change my clothing,” he added. “I was so shaken by how quickly everything escalated.
"The difficulty we encounter even having private conversations in public shows how bad the situation concerning antisemitism is.”
A spokesperson for Copenhagen Police said: “Copenhagen Police can confirm that we were present at Copenhagen Airport on Friday, where one person had thrown food at the other person following an argument.
“At the scene, we arrested a 25-year-old Swedish citizen, who was charged with violence.
“It will now be investigated whether there may be a so-called hate motive.”
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